The Heart Of The Glade

Walls

Footsteps. Murmurs. Laughs. Squeaking metal. Voices. Thumps. Squeals. Banging. That is what I hear as I begin to awake from my unconsciousness.

I'm still in a ball in my corner of the box when I sense a set of fingers brush against my hands, but I don't move. I refuse to move. Through my closed eyelids I can tell that there's light now. There's also people; I can hear them talking and moving, but I still refuse to move.

"He's a little guy this time."
"Yeah, I don't think we've ever gotten one so small before."
"He must be at least twelve years old."
"Sssh! You'll scare him!"

The person last to speak is the closest to me, the one who brushed my hands with their fingers. I assume it was meant to be a kind gesture of reassurance. Also, I can tell that all the people who spoke were boys because of their unfeminine voices, but they're young. I'd say they're probably all teenagers or something close to my age. Then again, I can't remember how old I am but I have a feeling that I'm a teenager.

The boy who's closest to me says, "Are you ever going to look up?"

I assume he's talking to me but  I refuse to move. Again. I don't even shake my head in response. Too many things are happening for me to process right now and I'm scared that if I look up, I'll explode. So I remain as I am, waiting for anything to happen.

"His he alive?" I hear a boy from the distance say.

'He?' I think.

"Yes shank, he's alive. They don't send up dead greenies," The boy closest to me answers. I notice he has a british accent.

"Newt, you done babying the wimp? Let's get a move on!" Another male voice chimes in.

I hear a sigh from the boy next to me. "Go ahead. Have at 'im," he says. I feel him get up and walk away.

'Don't go,' I think, still unable to move.

Suddenly, I'm lifted off my feet as someone has a hold of the front of my hoodie, hoisting me high in the air above his head. My eyes go wide open and I nervously claw at the hands of my beholder. My hood has fallen off my head revealing my face and (h/c) hair. An eruption of gasps and 'I don't believe it's fill the air. I look down at the boy, who holds me above his head, as my feet dangle in the air. He's completely shocked and frozen in...disbelief?

'What? Has he never seen a girl before?' I think.

I begin to struggle against his grasp again.

"Put me down!" I yell. This time my voice sounds normal. Then again, what is normal?

"Gally, put her down!" the boy with the british accent says.

The boy drops me and backs away, leaving me to fall on my knees.

I look up. Boys, teenagers, circle around me as they stare at me with wide eyes as if I was some sort of an alien. The ceiling of the box (or should I say lid?) has been removed so that now I can fully stand. The boy, who had grabbed me, stands in the box with me. I notice the animal, which had been in the box with me on my way here, behind him in a cage, squealing. In the cloudless sky above us, is the sun, shining bright.

Then I notice the walls.

They're not just any kind of walls, but their material is cold stone walls standing multiple stories tall. They form a large square around the place, obviously indicating to be a barrier line. I feel even more claustrophobic than I did in the box now.

Suddenly, silence is broken.

"It's a girl!" someone yells.